Sony Corp., Toshiba Corp. and NEC Electronics Corp., said on Thursday they had jointly developed technology to mass produce cutting-edge chips. The platform developed by the three Japanese companies will be used to make system chips, which combine multiple functions on a sliver of silicon, using 45-nanometer technology, the firms said in a joint press release.
Chip makers worldwide are locked in a race to lower production costs on 90-, 65- and 45-nanometer chips, with the smaller circuitry widths allowing more power per chip for complex devices. The three companies are developing a platform for low-power system chips, to be completed in early 2007.